1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a brake device for an automobile for braking a wheel by brake hydraulic pressure. The brake hydraulic pressure is generated by a brake hydraulic pressure generating means due to depression of a brake pedal.
2. Description of the Related Art
A brake pedal of an automobile is supported on a dash board which rises from a floor panel of the vehicle. For this reason, when a shock generated upon a collision of the automobile causes the dash board to retreat toward a vehicle compartment along with the brake pedal, there is a possibility that a load may be applied to a driver's foot which is placed on the brake pedal. To alleviate the load applied to the driver's foot during a collision, a brake device is known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 6-211115, in which a pedal bracket for rotatably supporting an upper end of a brake pedal and a dash board are connected to each other so as to be separable due to a shock. Upon collision of the vehicle, the pedal bracket, which is separated from the dash board, is rotated forwards along with the brake pedal to alleviate the load applied to the driver's foot.
The degree and magnitude of deformation of the dash board varies depending upon the extent of the collision. For this reason, in the known device, there is a possibility that the bracket may not reliably be separated from the dash board depending upon the extent of the collision. Hence, the brake pedal cannot be rotated forwards.